Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1887-05-20
a MORMON GIRLS FATE.
she shot Herself To Avoid Marrying
an Elder Who Already Had Four
Wives


Sixteen years ago, writes Jerico
valley, Utah, correspondent of tn,
AeW lork Sun, Samuel Bates. Nor.
mon. then possessor of two wives, Ann
and Jane. the latter beng childless,
took Mary Lee. an orphan. to bring up
according TO the rites of the Church OF
the Latter Day Saints. As Ann had
many children TO comfort her. the babe
was placed in the charge of Jane, de-
vout Mormon. herself born in the faith.
Mary Lees parents were from
England. Her mother was delicate
little woman, we'll remembered by
many here as a fearful and unhappy
person. Times were hard for them
when they first appeared here. and they
grew harder for some reason. just as
her husband was about to take sec
ond wife, evidently against the wishes
of the companion of his youth. he was
killed in snow slide. and three months
after that his widow ed, some said of
broken heart, leaving little Mary alone
in the world Samuel Bates was some
thing of man among the Mormons.
He was called Brother Bates. His
first wife was hard, coarse woman,
but Jane TO whom the little orphan
went, was tender. rather good looking,
and filled with stern and lnbIending
faith in the divinity of her religion and
a determination to 81 ve' to its end.
The child which thus fell TO her, par
took of her dead mothers disposition.
As she grew to womanhoOd she be-
came fair TO a degree not often seen in
these parts, but in spirit she was
| gloomy, sad. and reticent Surround
ed b. MormOns and taught by the pi-
Gus Jane. she became almost fanatic
on the su ject of rclig ON herself, and
read " accepted all that was instilled
into her mind as the inspiration Of the
/ Lord
A year or two ago MARY Lee became
acquainted with u Young man living in
a mining camp not far from here. a
Gentle. of course. a no Mormon
delves for gold and silver The youth
Seth Bentley by name, rarely lost an
opportunity to pay the girl little atten-
t ons. and at length it became the ru-
NOR that he was her accepted lover
\
to meet him, of evenings they would
be seen by the mountain brook which
winds through the town, and on sun
daF afternoons particularly when
Brother Bates was away from home,
they would Toe riding or walking to-
gether. Jane made no opposition to
the intimacy. but when Brother Bates
attention was called to She matter. he
felt that it was his duty to interfere.
l. tile by little Jane mind was won
over to his way of thinking, though at
first she was unsuSp6cting. Is ,ntley
was forbidden the house, and the GIL
was told that she must never meet him
again. But they met after this, not rs
result of Mary'S disobedience, but by
BentleN's pers stence. H. found her
one day last summer down by the brook,
and when she would have run from
h IN he caught her, and, holding her
closely, he told her of his affection for
her, and cntreated her To become his
wife, and in return received some en-
enlargement. From that time on they
met occasionally, unknown to Brother
Bates or to Jane.
In September Brother Bates went TO
New Mexico on an cXhortation tour,
and when he returned in OCTOBER he
brought back with h IN Norm IN ell
der named Crafty, who, seeing Mary
Lee, bethought himself that he would
/ like to take another wife, his fifth, and
he accordingly preached the subject to
her on the second day after h : arrival.
The girl repealed him with horror, but
he pressed his suit, and at length
/ 4 Al ID l.,
ance. AT first Jane opposed the prop
osition. She was sincere Mormon,
but her affections for her foster child
got the better of her for Il time. ana un-
I'll she could be placated Elder crafty
| had to hang his harp on the willow.
/ The means resortcd to to bring Jane to
see the error of her ways are familiar
/ to all who have had intercourse with
/ the strange people VINO inhablt these
valleys. Brother Bates had a vision.
/ Then Elder Crafty had II vision. Then
bishop who was passing through Jer-
| leo valley had u vision. Then the
Sunday-school perintendent, the
Sunday-school teachers. and the local
elders and missionaries had visions.
/ BY singular concensus of opinion all
/ had seen the same thing. Mary Lee
was Gods choice for Elder Cratty's
wife Still the girl. now most of the
time in tears. like her unhappy mother,
dead sixteen years, shrank from the
proffer of the sitor and her foster
mother. the kindly but superstitous
Jane. still demurred. though growing
weaker in her opposition.
The visions failing of the desired eff
feet, Elder Crafty and Brother Bates
went up into the mountains some time
last month. and. fasting for fourteen
days and nights. they wresteled with
the Lord, and at the end of their vigil
they were rewarded BY seeing a great
light and hearing voice from heaven
saying that Elder Crafty should take
Mary Lee to wife, and that further de-
lay would be both unseemly and dis
pleasing TO the Lord. With this reve-
lation and the further assurance that a
spirit had appeared unto Crafty in
vision saying that if Mary Lee would
marry him she would receive the requis-